Though Neptis’s interest is in world urban regions, its focus to date has been the Toronto metropolitan region – the constellation of cities and towns around Toronto that are inter-related as a region. When Neptis was established in the late 1990s there was a dearth of current information on the region. Neptis research has helped to stimulate a new era of Provincial government initiatives in regional urban growth management in the Toronto metropolitan region. The foundation began with a comprehensive review of aspects of the region, the six-volume “Portrait of a Region”, and has proceeded through series of growth issue and historic studies and commentaries.

The Neptis program falls into seven general areas of research and publication.